The present invention is directed to a an artificial heart assembly with a synchronous power rectifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,281 to Snyder discloses an artificial heart assembly having a blood inlet conduit, a blood outlet conduit, and a pumping mechanism that pumps blood from the blood inlet conduit to the blood outlet conduit. The Snyder artificial heart assembly includes a first membrane defining a blood chamber fluidly coupled to the blood inlet conduit and the blood outlet conduit, and the pumping mechanism includes a pusher plate that makes contact with the first membrane to force blood from the blood inlet conduit to the blood outlet conduit. The Snyder artificial heart assembly also has a second membrane defining a second blood chamber fluidly coupled to a second blood inlet conduit and a second blood outlet conduit and a second pusher plate that makes contact with the second membrane to force blood from the second blood inlet conduit to the second blood outlet conduit.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,728,154 to Crossett, et al. discloses an artificial heart assembly that has a structure similar to the artificial heart assembly described above in connection with the Snyder patent. The Crosset, et al. patent also discloses a communications system that includes an external transceiver located external of a subject and an internal transceiver that is implanted beneath the skin of a subject. The internal transceiver is provided with an internal coil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,125 to Weiss discloses an artificial heart assembly, which is provided either as a total artificial heart or as a ventricular assist device, having a sensorless motor and a circuit for reversibly driving the sensorless motor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,836 to Prem, et al. discloses a transcutaneous energy and data transmission apparatus for a cardiac assist device such as an artificial heart or ventricular assist device. The transmission apparatus has an external coupler in the form of a tuned circuit with an induction coil and an internal coupler which together act as an air-core transformer. The transmission apparatus has a DC power supply and a power converter that are coupled to the external coupler. The power converter converts electrical current from the DC power supply into high-frequency AC. The transmission apparatus has a voltage regulator coupled to the internal coupler. As shown in FIG. 3 and described in connection therewith, the Prem, et al. patent discloses that the voltage regulator includes a shunt switch and a shunt controller. As shown in FIG. 2, the power converter includes an H-bridge inverter, an H-bridge controller, and a shunt detector. The H-bridge controller can reduce the duty cycle of the H-bridge converter if a shunt is detected.
The invention is directed to an apparatus adapted to be used in connection with an artificial heart assembly having a blood inlet conduit, a blood outlet conduit, and a pump that is adapted to pump blood from the blood inlet conduit to the blood outlet conduit. The apparatus includes an internal coupler adapted to be implanted beneath the skin of a subject and an external coupler operatively coupled to the internal coupler so that the external coupler induces an alternating electric current in the internal coupler. A rectification circuit is coupled to receive the alternating electric current induced in the internal coupler and generates DC electric power for the motor. The rectification circuit operates synchronously with, or at the same frequency as, the alternating current induced in the internal coupler and produces DC electric power from the alternating electric current. A drive circuit is operatively coupled to the rectification circuit and causes the rectification circuit to operate synchronously with, or at the same frequency as, the electric current induced in the internal coupler.
The rectification circuit may have a first rectification component in the form of a diode, a second rectification component in the form of a diode, a first switching component in the form of a transistor, and a second switching component in the form of a transistor.
The artificial heart apparatus may also include a DC-to-AC converter coupled to the external coil, with the DC-to-AC converter generating an AC electric current from a DC voltage. The apparatus may also include a membrane defining a blood chamber fluidly coupled to the blood inlet conduit and the blood outlet conduit, and the pump may comprise a pusher member which makes contact with the membrane to force blood from the blood inlet conduit to the blood outlet conduit.
The features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment, which is made with reference to the drawings, a brief description of which is provided below.